My Cat Died

Jordan Dane
@JordanDane

Our beautiful boy - Pinot Grigio

My cat died last week. A freak thing. I thought cats had nine lives. Pinot Grigio only had one. He was our big yellow meat loaf. By far the prettiest cat we ever had. Our dogs tolerated him. My dog Taco treated him like a salt lick. The cat wouldn't budge. He'd only move his head from side to side until the dog stopped. Pinot was the cool cat who didn't run. 

Pinot Grigio "watching" birds - He thinks he fits

He was ten years old. I figured we'd have him for more time, but I guess you can't count on anything. Last week was a real reminder to me of that point. We'd taken him to the vet for his annual grooming. He was such a fuss budget that he needed to be sedated. He never made it out of the sedation. Second guessing our decision has been hard. Nothing has helped. We miss him.

Rat boy - Sancho - One Lucky Dog

The day before our cat died, one of my rescue dogs Sancho got into the garage and into rat poison. Don't ask how it happened or why it was there and accessible. I'm still upset that it was there at all, but it was. The dogs aren't out of our sight much, but this time, Sancho was alone in our garage while my husband went into the attic. He was gone long enough that the dog (who rarely leaves his side) had gotten into more than his share of mischief. But if my husband hadn't seen Sancho rooting around and wondered what he'd been doing, our dog would have been dead in a few days. Dying by eating rat poison isn't an easy way to go. By the time symptoms would've showed, it would've been too late. (And before you ask, I don't even want rats or mice to go through that. In the past, I have trapped them in my own catch and release program.)

So many things had to happen in this perfect storm of mishaps. We could have had a far worse week if we'd lost both of them, but I've been thinking of death too much this week. So much is happening in the world on a grander scale of doom that has reminded me how fragile life is.

Mixed with all the bad things came good stuff too. Life is weird like that. My mother had a birthday and we all celebrated in a family reunion that was tons of fun. I got a new agent and have been giddy with excitement over that. I'm now with the Knight Agency and Elaine Spencer. I didn't know what to make of the highs and lows of my life last week. Guess I'm still stunned, but as a writer, I want to remember all of it. Writers are strange that way.

Your homework assignment for today is to kiss the people and the animals you love, for starters. And join me in praying for the people of Syria while you're at it.